Clinical Research Directory

Adaptive Real-Time Voice Virtual Patients for Clinical Communication Training

This study evaluated whether an emotionally and interactionally adaptive real-time voice virtual patient can improve clinical communication training for resident physicians. Communication with patients in emotionally challenging situations, such as breaking bad news, requires clinicians to deliver information clearly, recognize emotional cues, respond empathically, and maintain a coherent interaction. Standardized patient training can support these skills but is resource intensive and difficult to provide repeatedly. Real-time voice virtual patients may offer scalable practice opportunities, but simple spoken interaction alone may not provide patient responses that change meaningfully according to the learner's communication. The adaptive virtual patient used in this study was designed to update the patient's emotional tone, openness, defensiveness, and interactional style during the conversation based on the learner's communication behavior. The study compared this adaptive virtual patient training with a non-adaptive real-time voice virtual patient and with standardized patient training. Resident physicians were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to one of three groups: emotionally and interactionally adaptive virtual patient training, non-adaptive virtual patient training, or standardized patient training. Participants completed two communication training sessions focused on breaking bad news. After training, participants completed learner-reported measures of perceived response contingency and patient realism. Approximately four weeks later, participants completed a mini-objective structured clinical examination using a human standardized patient to assess communication performance in a delayed near-transfer setting. The primary outcome was the total mini-OSCE communication score at four weeks. Secondary outcomes included mini-OSCE domain scores for structured delivery, emotional responsiveness, and interactional process; learner-reported response contingency and patient realism; and expert-rated behavioral consistency and clinical credibility of virtual patient interactions.

Virtual Reality in Nursing Students' Communication Skills

The purpose of this clinical trial is to determine the effect of a virtual reality application on nursing students' skills in breaking bad news and approaching crying patients at a nursing faculty in western Turkey. The primary questions to be addressed are: Is there a significant difference in breaking bad news skills between students receiving the virtual reality intervention and those receiving the standard curriculum? Is there a significant difference in skills related to approaching crying patients between students receiving the virtual reality intervention and those receiving the standard curriculum? Comparison group: The researchers will compare the intervention group, which receives the virtual reality application, with the control group, which follows the standard curriculum, to assess differences in skill development. Participants: Nursing students aged 18 years or older, who are taking a communication course for the first time and voluntarily participating. Participants will be randomly assigned to the intervention or control groups. Participants in the intervention group will: Attend an orientation session for the virtual reality application, Engage in a virtual reality scenario based on the SPIKES protocol involving breaking bad news and approaching a crying patient, Participate in a debriefing session to discuss their experiences. Participants in the control group will receive the standard curriculum course.